Nintendo has claimed victory in its long-running legal battle with Anascape after the US Court of Appeals said it did not infringe a patent held by the little-known intellectual property owner.
Anascape had alleged that the Wii and GameCube controllers used six-axis control techniques detailed in US patent 6,906,700 - 'A 3D …

grrrr

IP/patent trolls like Anascape are ridiculous. Why do they own the IP/patent for game controller technology when they dont even make game consoles or controllers. I could maybe understand if they did research in the field, but they dont. They only buy the fucking bit of paper that says they did so they can make money off the tech companies that actually make em.

A clear case of........

bolting the stable door.

changing the laws of time and space.

gaming the patent system and getting caught.

Thumbs up to Nintendo for calling their bluff and holding out in the fact of the first verdict. Mind you couldn't have been a difficult decision. You can just image the conversation at Nintendo HQ. "They added our design to their patent two years after we produced it and they are accusing US of theft.".

It was Sony

The Sixaxis claim of prior art comes from the Playstation's DualShock controller. Which would've looked even weirder in Nintendo HQ: "Hey guys, our main competitor made the thing before!"

Granted that the "Sixaxis" controller as such came with the PS3, but the concept might have been patented by Sony well in advance of the actual accelerometer being added; also you might claim that the dual analog sticks give six-axis movement capabilities.

Anyway, good for Nintendo. Troll icon, though I'd like to use a 'dead troll' one.

Congratulations Ninty

This is a good day for common-sense as far as I'm concerned. So that's one patent troll smacked down (shame Ninty can't sue for the trouble caused) unfortunately there's apparently a never-ending list of others out there.

I'm a little confused however, how the troll was permitted to extend their patent, and especially when there was demonstrable "prior art".

*bzzzt* Sorry, incorrect.

"Anascape's patent had been updated with six-axis technology in 2000 - two years after Sony released the DualShock controller with six-axis sensing on board."

Uh, no.

The original Dual Shock and Dual Shock 2 controllers did NOT have accelerometers. They *did* have "rumble packs" (which sure sounds better than "vibrators"). The Dual Shock 3 came out in (roughly) 2007 and did have an accelerometer and a "rumble pack".

kiddie fiddlers > Hitler > Satan > Patent Lawyers

Patent Attorneys these days are largely a blight on capitalism and expose the modern artificial house of cards virtual land rush VIP Feudialism (patent lawyers, big bankers, self important politicians) that ultimately will crash our standard of living for a generation.